You should run for office. Have you thought about it? Have you spent time thinking over the issues that you would run on, what your slogan would be, where the money would come from?
You SHOULD run for office. Not your boss… not your spouse… not your best friend who always talks about politics. YOU.
Let me ask you this: do you have good ideas about how to make your country, state, city, or neighborhood better? Do you say to yourself, “gee, I sure do wish my congressman / mayor / town council would _______________”? Do you want to make a difference?
Don’t Wait for a White Knight
Too many people on the fringes of professional politics spend their time waiting for a white knight to come and save the day. Political volunteers, staffers, leaders of civic and neighborhood organizations, campaign donors, local committee-people… too often wait for a political hero to come and save the day.
What these folks don’t realize is that, in all but the rarest circumstances, there is no white knight that comes along to champion your issues, get the bills you care about passed, and get your town / county / state / country cleaned up an on the right track. But fear not, because…
YOU Can Be the Hero of the Story
That’s right. YOU. Not some outsider who gallops in to make things right. You can be the hero of your own story, and of your town’s (or state’s, or nation’s) story. You can champion the issues that matter, get the right bills passed, end injustices, and get things onto the right track.
Often, the best way for you to do that… the best way for you to be the white knight, the champion, the hero of the story… is to throw your hat into the ring and run for office. For more on why this is true, read Why Politics Matters.
What’s Holding You Back?
Running for office for the first time can be (and usually is) scary. You’re confused, you’re not sure what to do, you’re worried you will make mistakes. Guess what? That’s ok. You’ll make wrong turns and wrong decisions. You’ll make mistakes. You may even (gasp!) lose. But in the process, you WILL BE the hero of the story, if you’re running for the right reasons.
If you are championing a cause that matters, and fighting hard for what is right, you win, even if that’s not what the results say on Election Day. If you lose then maybe, like thousands of losing candidates before you, you will win on your next try. If you win, you’ll have a huge opportunity to make a real and lasting difference over the next 2, 4, or 6 years. Either way, just by running you’ll be doing more that 95% of the people in the world in trying to make a difference.
So… what office are YOU running for this cycle?
(Need more inspiration? Check out The Secrets of Being a Political Entrepreneur, and The Man in The Arena. Not sure where to start your campaign? Get these Local Victory resources).